Employee Benefits

Overview
Part of the City of Decatur's success is because of the efforts and loyalty of our employees. The City in return provides a competitive benefits package. In assessing our comprehensive benefits program, the City has taken great care to seek a fair balance between business needs and employment security.  We also welcome ideas and suggestions from employees.

Health Insurance
The City of Decatur is self-insured but contracts with a third party administrator to process and pay claims. The current health insurance administrator is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA).  The City of Decatur offers a comprehensive major medical health plan with a HMO or PPO option.

Employees enrolled in the HMO option are required to select a Primary Care Physician (PCP). The PCP coordinates all in-network care, refers the employee for more specialist care, and the employee pays a co-pay based upon the services provided.  There is no deductible to meet or out of pocket maximum that the employee has to pay.  The plan does not pay for non-emergency medical charges that are outside of the HMO network.

Employees enrolled in the PPO option may visit any doctor/hospital they choose, but are encouraged to seek medical care within the PPO designated network. For medical care that is within the BCBS PPO network, the plan pays for 85% of the UCR charges, and the employee pays 15%.  For medical care that is outside of the BCBS PPO network, the plan pays for 60% of the UCR charges and the employee pays 40%.  There is a deductible and out of pocket maximum for the PPO plan.

Both plans include office visits, preventative care, lab work, hospitalization, and prescription drugs. 

The City of Decatur also provides a Dental PPO program through BCBSGA, and vision services (routine eye exams, eye glass frames, lenses, and contacts) are covered under a reimbursement program. 

Each employee is required to participate in the health insurance program. Employee contributions toward the health premium is required. 

Flexible Spending Accounts

The City of Decatur offers a Flexible Spending Account which can help offset the costs of medical care and childcare through pre-tax deductions.  The employee is allowed to allocate up to a maximum of $1,500 annually for the medical spending account, and/or up to a maximum of $5,000 for the childcare spending account.  Over the counter medications are eligible for reimbursement under the medical spending account, as well as doctor co-pays, deductibles, prescription co-pays, some medical equipment, and dental and vision expenses.

Life Insurance
The City Of Decatur offers two times an employee's salary in life insurance, and the administrator of the life insurance program is Greater Georgia Life.  This benefit is at no cost to the employee. 

The City also offers additional life insurance options at minimal cost to the employee.  Greater Georgia Life provides a dependent life insurance plan of two thousand dollars for the passing of a spouse and each dependent child. The dependent life insurance benefit cost is paid for by the employee.

Aetna Supplement Life Insurance program allows the employee to buy additional term life insurance on him/herself, his/her spouse, or dependent children.  The employee may opt to enroll for up to three times his/her annual salary, two times his/her annual salary for spousal insurance, and ten thousand dollars per dependent child. The supplemental life insurance benefit is voluntary and the cost is fully paid by the employee.

Retirement
The City Of Decatur has its own retirement fund, and is a defined benefit retirement system. Each employee is required to participate. Membership in the Decatur Employee's Retirement System is one of the most important parts of an employee's compensation package. The purpose of the Retirement System is to provide employees with an income after they retire from the City Of Decatur. The Retirement System also provides certain benefits in the case of death or disability of an employee.

Please note, however, employees are not allowed "hardship withdrawals" under any circumstances.

Employees are considered vested after ten years of service.

A non-public safety employee may retire, after a minimum of ten years, once the employee's age plus years of service equals 80. Public Safety employees may retire after a minimum of ten years once the employee's age plus years of service equals 75.

The City of Decatur also offers two optional retirement programs in addition to the City Retirement System:   (1)  457 Deferred Compensation program and (2) the Roth IRA program which are both administered through the ICMA Retirement Corporation.

The 457 plan is a deferred compensation program that allows employees to save and invest for their retirement with pre-tax funds. Under the 457 Deferred Compensation Program, employees are allowed emergency "hardship withdrawals" as designated by the IRS guidelines.

The Roth IRA plan allows employees to invest AFTER tax funds for their retirement. 

Both plans allow employees to increase, decrease, stop and restart contributions as often as they wish without penalties or fees. These funds belong solely to the employee, and the employee selects the investments.  The City does not match these contributions.

Pay Periods
Employees of the City of Decatur are paid bi-weekly. The official workweek begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. All payroll deductions for benefits are made bi-weekly.

Probationary Period
All regular employees hired by the City of Decatur undergo a probationary period. Non-public safety personnel, usually, are on working test for six months. After successful completion of the probationary period, employees are eligible for an increase in salary. Entry-level Public Safety personnel undergo a one-year probationary period and are eligible for a merit increase after successful completion of each six-month interval.

Compensatory Leave                                                                                                Employees who are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act may be compensated for overtime work by authorized leave with pay. Such compensatory leave shall be authorized on the basis of one hour of leave per overtime hour worked.

Employees normally scheduled to work an average of forty hours weekly may accumulate compensatory leave to a maximum of 80 hours. Employees normally scheduled to work an average of 56 hours weekly may accumulate compensatory leave to a maximum of 120 hours.

When the maximum has been accumulated, no additional compensatory leave will be accrued until some of the accumulated leave has been taken.

Vacation Leave                                                                                                                It is the policy of the City Of Decatur to provide vacation leave with pay to each regular, full-time employee as described below:

Employees normally scheduled to work an average of forty hours per week earn vacation leave as follows:

Employees normally scheduled to work an average of fifty-six hours per week earn vacation leave as follows:

Vacation leave may accumulate to a maximum of the leave earned in three calendar years. When the maximum has been accumulated, no additional vacation leave will be earned until some of the accrued leave has been taken.

As of December 31 of each year, accumulated vacation leave shall be reduced to an amount equal to the leave earned in two calendar years.

Sick Leave                                                                                                                      
It is the policy of the City to provide sick leave with pay to each regular, full-time employee. The City provides for two types of sick leave: certified medical sick leave and general sick leave.

An employee shall be granted the use of medically certified sick leave with pay when an employee furnishes a written statement from a physician certifying that the employee's absence from work for the period of requested leave is medically necessary for either the employee or for a member of the employee's immediate household requiring the employee's personal care and attention.

Employees normally scheduled to work an average of forty hours weekly earn medically certified sick leave at the rate of 80 hours annually or ten work days on an annual basis. Employees scheduled to work an average of fifty-six hours weekly shall medically certified sick leave at the rate of 120 hours annually or five work days on an annual basis.

Employees working an average of forty hours weekly may accumulate medically certified sick leave to a maximum of 1,040 hours or 130 workdays. Employees working an average of fifty-six hours weekly may accumulate medically certified sick leave to a maximum of 1,464 hours or 61 workdays.

When an employee has accumulated the maximum hours of medically certified sick leave, no additional hours shall be earned until some of the accrued leave has been taken.

An employee may be granted the use of general sick leave with pay when absence from work is necessary for:

• Any reason for which medically certified sick leave would be granted, after medically certified sick leave is exhausted.
• Routine physical, dental or eye examinations and similar health care, when services cannot be reasonably obtained outside of the employee's normal work hours.
• Illness of a member of the employee's immediate household, which requires the employee's personal care and attention.
• Personal illness, physical incapacity, bodily injury, disability resulting from pregnancy or childbirth or required medical treatment which justifies absence but for which no medical certification is furnished.

Employees normally scheduled to work an average of forty hours weekly earn general sick leave at the rate of 40 hours or five workdays on an annual basis. Employees scheduled to work an average of fifty-six hours weekly earn general sick leave at the rate of 48 hours or two workdays on an annual basis.

Employees working an average of forty hours weekly may accumulate general sick leave up to a maximum of 80 hours or 10 workdays. Employees working an average of fifty-six hours weekly may accumulate general sick leave up to a maximum 96 hours or four workdays.

When an employee has accumulated the maximum hours of general sick leave, no additional hours of such leave shall be earned until some of the accrued leave has been taken.

Holidays
The following holidays are observed by the City Of Decatur:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday (third Monday in January)
• President's Day (third Monday in February)
• Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
• Independence Day, July 4
• Labor Day (First Monday in September)
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day After Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day, plus one floating holiday as designated by the City Manager

Tuition Assistance
The City Of Decatur will pay matriculation, fees and books for regular full time employees who have been with the City Of Decatur for over one year and have not been denied a merit increase. The employee must maintain a cumulative B average and have been denied financial aid.

Direct Deposit
The City Of Decatur offers direct deposit to employees to the bank of their choice.

Employee Assistance Program
The City Of Decatur offers an EAP through Cameron & Associates, Inc. It is 100% employer paid up to six visits per calendar year. This benefit is extended not only to the employee but also to the employee's entire household.